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28.04.2016 Opinion

How Far Has Ghana Gone With Its Medium Term National Development Policy Framework The Ghana Shared Growth And Development Agenda (GSGDA 2)?

By  Huda Sangari, Student of Social Work, KNUST
How Far Has Ghana Gone With Its Medium Term National Development Policy Framework The Ghana Shared Growth And Development Agenda GSGDA 2?
28.04.2016 LISTEN

A walk through Accra Central to James town between the hours of 9am-12pm on a Tuesday, I kept asking myself if the day was a holiday for some schools. Some schools because; I helped my brother dress up for school before leaving the house that morning. Children were seen on the street, in shops, at the market place and homes instead of the classroom. Out of interest to know why they were home and not the classroom, I asked a young boy aged 15years old and enquired from him.

James town is a fishing community found on the East of Korle Lagoon on the shores of Accra, densely inhabited by Ga’s. The men in Jamestown engage in fishing while the women are either fish mongers or sell in the market. Some young men and women are also involved in petty trading and others spend their time playing games such as ludo, cards or video games.

On a normal day in Jamestown, children are seen playing on the streets or working to support themselves and family. Most of them have dropped out of school and some have never been to school. So I asked myself; ‘’Jamestown is in Accra the Capital City of Ghana, and there are school drop-outs and children who have never been to school. Then what happens to children and wellbeing of people in the many deprived communities outside Accra?’’

As the saying goes; the devil finds work for the idle hand. The youth and children of Jamestown are exposed to social vices and immoral practices, gay practice amongst them is not news. Are we waiting for things to go really bad? Have the causes of school dropout and unemployment been very well diagnosed? Has facilities and amenities needed by a community to raise healthy and happy children been made available? Have policies and programs been well implemented and evaluated? How far are we going with our SDGs?

Youth who have completed Junior High school and Senior High School do not have the means to further their education to the Senior High and tertiary level respectively due to the high cost of education. These youth add up to the already existing unemployed graduates and engage in all forms of activities to be able to fend for themselves and families. The ladies are mostly vulnerable and are subjected to all forms of treatment such as sex, drugs, prostitution, theft, and early marriages. As a result, parents of children are just some few years older than their children.

There are few or no vocational training schools in the community for the people to take advantage of in order to equip themselves with employable skills. Even if there were, the cost of accessing them is something the people cannot afford. There are no mechanisms for effective marketing of fish for the fish farmers in the community.

As I drew closer to a group of children playing on the street, I noticed that most of them had skin diseases and are bare footed with either a shirt or shorts on. When I enquired from the 15years old boy; why he was at home and not in school, he said he is a JHS 1 student and have been home for about two weeks in order to help his mother sell in the market to raise some money for his feeding and books.

Jamestown used to be a beautiful community that attracted tourists. But this cannot be said about the community anymore. It’s growing population due to increase in teenage pregnancy, and lack of social amenities has resulted in the people using the shore of the sea for a place of convenience. The high cost of accommodation in its nearby communities have made it difficult for indigenous people of James to move.

For a very long time there have been government after government, policies after policies and programs after programs, examples are the Millennium development goal, Ghana shared growth and development agenda (GSGDA), SGD, and FCUBE. How effective have these been? How well have we made sure government is about its business and seeing to the welfare of the nation? Recently I heard on the radio that Ghana is thinking of selling its Electricity Company. Already we have sold out a number of assets. What legacy are we leaving behind for our children? Its high time we sit-up and do what’s right, position resource wisely and fight for the development of the nation and not to enrich our pocket or self-ego.

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